Subtle Effects Config Guide: Toggle Block Particle Effects

Subtle Effects is a Minecraft utility mod that lets you control a wide range of particle and sound effects through an in-game config menu. You open that menu by clicking its interface button, then browse categories and flip individual options on or off. There are no recipes or crafting steps involved — everything is handled through the menu and its settings.

This guide focuses on the block-based particle toggles: campfires, lava sparks, water steam and boiling, cauldrons, dust, geysers, waterfalls, and similar effects.

Campfires and Smoke

Remove Vanilla Campfire Sparks strips the standard lava spark particle from campfires. Campfire Dowse Smoke swaps the smoke given off when lava and water form a block (obsidian, cobblestone, or stone) for steam. Replace Campfire Food Smoke changes the smoke from food cooking on a campfire into steam. Campfire Sizzling Sound Volume adjusts how loud the sizzle is. A separate option replaces the old black-and-gray smoke with campfire-style particles, and this includes vanilla furnace variants.

Lava Sparks and Heat

Lava Sparks Display Type controls how lava sparks appear, and Lava Sparks Density sets how many spawn. A warning notes that large lava pools — such as those in the Nether — can cause severe lag on slower computers. Lantern Sparks Density does the same for lanterns. Brewing Stand Sparks and Monster Spawner Sparks toggle sparks for those blocks. Purple Monster Spawner Particles swaps the vanilla flame for a purple flame matching the spawner's eyes.

Water Steam, Boiling, and Cauldrons

Water can steam or bubble based on nearby light. Steaming Threshold sets the light level at which water steams, and the boiling option sets the level at which it bubbles; the boiling value cannot be lower than the steaming value. Steaming Water Cauldron and Boiling Water Cauldron apply the same behavior to water cauldrons. Lava Cauldrons Evaporate Rain adds lava cauldrons to the blocks that turn rain into steam. Lava Cauldron Effects applies lava sounds and particles to lava cauldrons. Cauldron Use Particles and Cauldron Clean Item Sounds handle effects when a cauldron is used or an item is cleaned.

Dust

Redstone Block Dust and Glowstone Block Dust toggle dust from those blocks, each with its own density setting. Redstone Dust Emitting Blocks and Glowstone Dust Emitting Blocks let you add blocks from other mods, such as polished or chiseled variants. Nether Only Glowstone Block Dust limits glowstone dust to the Nether. Falling-block dust has its own group: While Falling Dust, While Falling Dust Start Distance, landing puffs, landing sounds, and Weak Support Dust Density. Replace Dust With Bubbles Underwater swaps dust for bubbles when a falling block is submerged.

Geysers

Flame, smoke, and bubble geysers each have a spawn chance, a list of blocks they can appear on (fluids included), a sound volume, an active time, and an inactive time. Setting a spawn chance to 0 disables that geyser type.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls Enabled, Small Waterfalls Enabled, and Large Waterfalls Enabled control the three sizes. Waterfall Update Frequency sets how often validity is checked in ticks; higher values are recommended since the check is intensive. Medium and large waterfalls each have a height threshold, a particle density, and a force-spawn option that keeps particles visible regardless of distance. Randomize Waterfall Particle Rotation toggles random rotation.

Other Block Effects

Sponge Drying Out Steam turns the Nether sponge-drying cloud into steam. Replace Rain Evaporation Steam changes smoke on lava, campfires, and magma blocks to steam. Beehives Have Sleeping Zs shows Z particles at hives and nests at night. Torchflower Smoke and Torchflower Flames toggle those particles. Dragon Egg Particles gives the egg ender-chest-style particles. Replace End Portal Smoke uses Nether portal particles for consistency with end gateways. Command Block Particles and its density option add Story Mode-style effects, and Command Block Minecart Particles does the same for the minecart variant. Beacon Particles Display Type, density, and speed control beacon particles, with a lag warning for slower machines. Respawn Anchor Particles adds crying obsidian particles. Amethyst Sparkle Display Type, Amethyst Sparkle Emitting Blocks, and Amethyst Sparkle Sounds handle amethyst effects.

Most toggles are simple on/off switches, while density, chance, and time options use numeric values; setting a density or chance to 0 disables that effect.